Hubert Dilger
|died= |placeofbirth= Germany |placeofdeath= Front Royal, Virginia |placeofburial= Rock Creek Cemetery in Washington, D.C. |placeofburial_label= Place of burial |image= |caption= |allegiance= United States of America Union |branch=Union Army |serviceyears= |rank= Captain |commands= Battery I, 1st Ohio Light Artillery |unit= |battles= American Civil War |awards= Medal of Honor |laterwork= }} Hubert Anton Casimir Dilger (March 5, 1836 – May 4, 1911) was a German immigrant to the United States who became a decorated artillerist in the Union Army during the American Civil War. He was noted as one of the finest artillerists in the Army of the Potomac, winning the Medal of Honor for his valiant work at the 1863 Battle of Chancellorsville. Early life and army career Dilger was born in Sulgen in the Black Forest region in Germany and educated in the Karlsruhe Military Academy. He served as a lieutenant in the Grand Duke's Horse Artillery at military posts in Gottesau, Karlsruhe, and Rastatt. He developed several innovative theories on artillery tactics and drill. When news came of the outbreak of the American Civil War, Dilger received a leave of absence and sailed to the United StatesWebpage for Dilger "DILGER WAS BORN MARCH 5, 1836 IN EUGEN, A BLACK FOREST TOWN. NAMED HUBERT ANTON CASIMIR DILGER, TAKING THE TWO MIDDLE NAMES FROM THE BOYS PATERNAL AND MATERNAL GRANDPARENTS"". After relocating to Cincinnati, Ohio, he became the captain of Battery I, 1st Ohio Light Artillery and fought at several battles of the Army of the Potomac, including under fellow German native Maj. Gen. Carl Schurz at the Second Battle of Bull Run. On May 2, 1863, Dilger fought in the rearguard of the retreating Union XI Corps during the disastrous Battle of Chancellorsville, for which he eventually was awarded the nation's highest decoration in 1893. He unlimbered his battery of six 12-pounder Napoleon smoothbore cannon as a last-ditch defense against a large portion of Stonewall Jackson's entire corps, which had pushed back XI Corps and was threatening to roll up the Union line. Dilger also received high praise in the Official Records of the Battle of Gettysburg and for his work in the 1864 Atlanta Campaign. Late in the war, he was on garrison duty. After the war, Dilger prospered in Ohio and eventually purchased a sprawling horse farm in the Shenandoah Valley near Front Royal, Virginia, where he raised his family. Unfortunately, his son Anton Dilger proved to be less praiseworthy. He waged biological warfare for Germany against a still-neutral United States in World War I, infecting horses with anthrax and glanders. Dilger is buried in Rock Creek Cemetery in Washington, D.C. Retrieved on 2008-07-02 Medal of Honor citation The following citation was issued on August 17, 1893: Fought his guns until the enemy were upon him, then with one gun hauled in the road by hand he formed the rear guard and kept the enemy at bay by the rapidity of his fire and was the last man in the retreat. See also *List of Medal of Honor recipients *List of American Civil War Medal of Honor recipients: A–F References http://www.familie-dilger.de/indexengl.htm Category:Army Medal of Honor recipients Category:Union Army officers Category:People of Ohio in the American Civil War Category:German immigrants to the United States Category:American people of German descent Category:People from Cincinnati, Ohio Category:People from Warren County, Virginia Category:1836 births Category:1911 deaths Category:Foreign born Medal of Honor recipients